Ammunition-hoisting apparatus.



A. T. DAWSON & J. HORNE.

AMMUNITION HOlSTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, 913.

1,182,990. Patented May16,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET A. T. DAWSON & J. HORNE.

AMMUNITION HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, 1913.

A. T. DAWSON & J. HORNE..

AMMUNITION HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, 1913. 1,182,990. Patented MaylG, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- 14/jfoaurcs: 4

A. T. DAWSON 6L1. HORNE. AMMUNITION HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, 1913. 1,182,990. Patented May16, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON, AND JAMES HORNE, OF

BARROW-IN-FURNESS, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS T0 VICKERS LIMITED, 0]? WEST-MINSTER, ENGLAND.

AMMUNITION-HOISTING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

Original application filed November 5, 1912, Serial No. 729,564. Dividedand this application filed December To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ARTHUR TREVOR DAwsoN, knight, and James HORNE, bothsubjects of the King of Great Britain, re siding, respectively, atVickers House, Broadway, l/Vestminster, in the county of London,England, and Naval Construction WVorks, Barrow-in-Furness, in the countyof Lancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Ammunition-Hoisting Apparatus, ofwhich the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus ofthe kind in which the powder charges and the projectile are raised in alower cage to a working chamber wherein the said powder charges andprojectiles are transferred fromthe lower cage to an upper or gunloading cage by which they are carried to the breech of the gun.

According to this invention, in order to enable the projectile to bebrought into its proper position for ramming into the gun loading cage,the projectile is carried on a tray firmly secured at each end to armsor levers provided with rollers, these levers being pivoted on the frameof the lower projectile cage in such manner that as the cage nears theworking chamber, the rollers on the levers engage with a cam andangularly displace the tray until, on reaching the working chamber, thesaid tray is in line with the projectile tray of the gun loading cage.On lowering the cage the projectile tray is restored to its originalposition by the cam and is retained in this position by the cooperationof the aforesaid rollers with plates fixed to the trunk.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into efl'ect we will describe the same more fully with referenceto the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevationshowing a constructional form of the hoisting apparatus. Fig. 2 is anend elevation on an enlarged scale of the principal parts in Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a side elevation. Fig. l a plan, and Figs. 5 and 6 are endelevations, showing the lower cages illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2,

Serial No. 804,164.

in different positions. Fig. 7 is a plan of a detail of Fig. 3.

A is the working chamber which moves with the turret during training.

B is the gun loading cage which conveys the ammunition from the workingchamber to the gun.

C is the rotary trunk, and D is the powder room from which the powdercharges are loaded into the powder holder D of the lower cage. In theexample illustrated the said holder D is constituted by a lower cagewhich is separate from the projectile cage E into which the projectilesare loaded from'the projectile room E.

The powder cage D and the projectile cage E are loaded with ammunitionby means of the waiting trays D and the bogie E arranged in the powderroom and projectile room respectively. The powder cage is formed withtwo separate compartments (Z (Z and in consequence two superposedwaiting trays D are provided in the powder charge chamber. WVhen theammunition is being raised in the trunk, the projectile cage E movesfirst and upon reaching the powder cage D lifts the same so that theyboth ascend together. At the commencement of the ascent of the powdercage D it becomes locked to the cage E by the bolt D (Fig. 3) which isconnected to a spring controlled lever D adapted to be actuated by a camon the trunk so that the bolt can be withdrawn as the powder cage Dnears its loading position contiguous to the waiting trays D during itsdescent.

Fig. 7 shows the arrangement of the bolt D which passes through lugs Don the cage D and engages in slots E in pins 6 on the cage E. The saidbolt is formed with a recess D which when the bolt is moved to the leftof the position shown in Fig. 7, registers with the left hand pin 6 theend of the bolt being then out of engagement with the slot E in theright hand pin. The cages are thus disconnected so that the cage E candescend to the projectile room E.

E represents the tray of the hoist cage E, the said tray being madeintegral with levers e pivoted at of to the upper part of the cage E.The outer ends of the said levers are furnished with rollers c which,during the ascent and descent of the lower cages, bear against plates 6and thereby retain the tray in the position shown in Figs. 3 to 5. Asthe cages near the working chamber, the rollers e engage in a cam grooveE (Figs. 2 and 6) and tilt the levers e and the tray into the positionshown in Fig. 6. The projectile and the powder charges in the separatecompartments of the cage D can then all be rammed directly into the gunloading cage by the rammers F F The levers e are so formed that when thecage is in the position shown in Figs. 3 to 5, they prevent the powdercharges from moving accidentally out of the compartments d d as isclearly seen in Fig. 5.

hat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

1. In ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus for heavy ordnance thecombination with the working chamber and the rotary trunk of a lowerpowder charge holder and projectile tray movable in said trunk, saidholder having separate powder charge compartments, a gun loading powdercharge holder and projectile tray, pivoted arms forming part of saidlower projectile tray,

an inwardly curved cam rail automaticafly lifting said tray intoalinement with the gun loading tray.

2. In ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus for heavy'ordnance, thecombination with the working chamber and the rotary trunk, of a lowerpowder" charge holder and projectile tray movable in said trunk, saidholder having separate powder charge compartments, a gun loading powdercharge holder and projectile tray, arms forming part of said lowerprojectile tray, a pivot for said arms arranged above the tray when inits normal position, and an inwardly curved cam rail in the trunk forcooperating with said arms.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON. JAMES HORNE.

Witnesses to the signature of Arthur Trevor Dawson:

HENRY KING, JNO. R. CAsWELL. Witnesses to the signature of James Horne:

W. H. ATKINSON, A. D. LLOYD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington. 11. c.

